A
congregation of Christian Hongkongers in the Kowloon district
of Lok Fu asked us to design a new spiritual home for them through
competition¡Xa place not just of worship, but of community and
fellowship, with facilities to house extensive educational and
outreach programmes, as well as permanent space for the congregation¡¦s
many musical groups. Like many architectural projects in densely-packed
Hong Kong, space was rare, so we decided to build up, that is,
to stack the church¡¦s different elements upon one another: A
covered assembly ground, an assembly hall, a chapel, classrooms
and finally, offices.

The
church itself is conceived as a giant ¡§bookshelf¡¨¡Xa basic architectural
framework that houses structural supports, building services and
means of circulation¡Xarticulated vertically and horizontally
by transfer structural zones and the church¡¦s functional elements.
Every effort is made to capture a deep sense of spirituality in
the design of symbolic details to enrich the religious experience.
Windows are arranged and coloured to create spaces of spiritual
solace and contemplation¡Xspaces that are intentionally luminious,
alluding to the radiance of the Holy Spirit. Rainbows of light
invoke the Christian value of tolerance. In the chapel, 142 pieces
of stained glass were designed by Tao Ho and specially installed
by artisans from the studio of Indonesian glass artist, Yaputra;
the panels depict the six days of the Creation according to Genesis.
The church is very much a reinterpretation of a familiar historical
model: the Christian house of worship. And it follows in this
tradition in a way that is uniquely tailored to its modern Hong
Kong environment.

For
our design, we were honoured with an HKIA Merit Award, given by
Hong Kong¡¦s architectural community for design schemes that have
made a significant and worthwhile contribution to Hong Kong¡¦s
built environment.